Midgard was once a world with Pantheons upon Pantheons, more Gods than many other worlds combined. The small, seemingly insignificant rock adrift in space a nexus point for various realms to come together. Over time some faded into obscurity, others left the realm altogether. While others continued to play with their influence on the world, subtly interacting with the world according to their grand design. This is not the tale of one such God. This is the tale of…
STONEHENGE // WILTSHIRE // ENGLAND
The grassy hill of Stonehenge was the home of several miracles that day. Mere minutes after the sky had erupted in an array of rainbow coloured light, two more blips of energy flashed around the ancient stone circle. The two costumed teenagers, Wiccan and Changeling stepped out amongst the gathered crowd of tourists.
“
I guess this is one place off the bucket list.” Changeling smiled, giving an awkward wave towards the flash of cellphones and gawking eyes around them. Unfortunately, out of the two of them, most of the attention around them seemed to be directed towards him, largely due to the fact his skin currently matched the vibrant green of the grass beneath them. Hushed voices hung in the air around, questioning if this being was someone like the Hulk, or Martian Manhunter.
“
Just wish we were visiting the UK under very different circumstances.” Wiccan mumbled to himself, running his hand through his hair as he took in the scenery around him. His eyes stopped ahead of them, where a red cloak billowed out dramatically from an imposing figure. He gulped, his hand beginning to shake slightly.
Changeling had caught sight of him too now, his green face forming a smile. He hadn’t noticed how Wiccan was reacting yet. “
D’you think he’ll let me take a selfie?”
Wiccan managed a smile at the thought.
“
Maybe he’ll do one better and make you an Avenger.” Wiccan teased, before pulling his boyfriend ahead with him into the centre of the circle.
Thor was stood among the tourists and the tour guide. He turned to look at outside the circle of admirers as he heard a soft noise and he noticed that the hushed tones were changing, two figures breaking through the crowd. One nearly as tall as him and as green as a troll, however, his features were much softer like that of a teenage boy. Beside him a figure wearing a red billowing cloak. Thor stepped towards them.
“Greetings Noble ones! Are you here to lead me to Avalon?” The two jumped ever so slightly as he spoke, star-struck by the Avenger’s godly presence. He was even more imposing in person than they had imagined, despite the jovial expression beautifully carved into his face.
Their throats grew dry as they looked between themselves, pondering what he had asked.
“
What’s… er…” Changeling’s voice cracked as he spoke. He hoped Thor was kind enough not to notice. “
What’s Avalon?”
“
The King Arthur place?” Wiccan offered, questioningly. The confidence in his answer wavered after his boyfriend raised an eyebrow in confusion at this seemingly new knowledge. “
It was in a PC game, okay?”
Thor looked between them as they talked among themselves, a confused look crossing his face before a look of realisation.
“PC Game- AH! One of the mortals digicomputer devices. Tony Stark talks often about such things. I myself am fond of the electronic letter. Although I never seem to receive them.” He cleared his throat slightly.
“Alas, noble ones you must come before me for another reason. Speak now, what may I do for you?”Wiccan gulped slightly. It was now or never. He glanced up at his partner’s smiling face, who gestured him forwards, encouragingly. Nodding, he spoke.
“
They call me uh.. I go by Wiccan.” He was stammering now; overthinking his words. Somehow he thought this would’ve been easier. “
Me and Changeling here, we’ve been trying to fight crime”.
Teddy chimed in, pointing towards Thor. “
Like you and the Avengers”
“
Er right, Yeah. We thought we were mutants. I can like... wish for things to happen. Warp reality i guess.” Glancing around, he quickly bent to pluck a small trodden daisy from the grass below. He held his hand open before him, the dying flower laying in his palm, before repeatedly mumbling one of the before mentioned wishes under his breath. As he willed it to grow, it followed, with the green of its stem growing more vibrant, and the petals blooming until they looked as good as new. He gave the god an awkward smile. “
See?”
Letting out a small awkward laugh, he continued. “
Anyway, yesterday something really weird happened. This, like, big golden man appeared and told me I was some kind of god. He called me… the Demiurge. I know this is probably really stupid and not worth your time, but-”
Changeling stepped forward in support, placing a hand on Wiccan’s shoulder. “
We thought you might be able to help. Given your uh… godness.”
Thor smiled at Wiccan as he stepped forward, lowering one of his hands and lifting the daisy out of Wiccans hands as it recovered. Only half paying attention to what the boy was saying.
“Power of the Green-” He looked up as Wiccan started to talk about a Big Golden Man. There were many beings of power who could fit this description however more importantly there was the big namedrop.
Demiurge. His focus solely on the magic one now he twirled the flower in his hands before placing it gently on the ground, the rejuvenated flower grasping the ground and growing roots as the magic still flowed through it.
“I heard stories that the Demiurge would one day return to Midgard however I had not believed it.” Thor nodded to himself as he stood up from monitoring the daisy.
“Our fates are intertwined it would seem”Wiccan inhaled, the nails of his now clenched fists pressing dangerously into his palms. Hearing confirmation from Thor just made it all seem real. His heart was pounding now, yet all he could do was nod. He knew he must’ve looked stupid, yet he couldn’t find the willpower to do anything more. After what felt like an eternity in his head, he finally spoke.
“
What… what does that mean?” His voice was shaky now. “
Is this bad?”
Thor walked forward and gave Wiccan a clap on the back, which was likely too forceful before turning his back to him and looking back at the circle of stones.
“It is only bad if you wish it to be.” He shrugged before turning back around.[color=#a4c2f4] [b]“Truly friend Wiccan, if this is true then you have a difficult path ahead of you. Tell me, what do you know of the Demiurge?”[/color][/b]
Struggling slightly to regain his footing, Wiccan continued. “
Not much… He said the Demiurge was the life force of the Universe. Wikipedia kind of said the same thing.” He laughed nervously as he spoke. Thor’s words had eased him somewhat, yet he could still hear his heart thundering against his ribs. “
The gold guy said he had to train me until i was ready for something.”
“I know not if the Demiurge is the Life Force of the universe however it is for a fact the Life Force that gave birth to the Elder Gods of Earth, such as Gaia. If you lead me to Avalon I shall take you to her, she may have some answers for you.”The response raised an even greater amount of questions for Wiccan. It seemed the Demiurge was
more than just a god. And on top of that there was the newfound worry that he potentially had a horde of children out there. Despite his worries of his potential fatherhood, he was glad to finally have some kind of direction at least. If the god of thunder didn’t have the answers, then maybe Mother Nature herself would.
“
Thank you.. Uh.. Mr Thor. I genuinely really appreciate this.” He smiled, his body shaking a lot less now, before glancing around at the stone arches around them. “
But I don’t really know much at all about this Avalon place. Especially how to get there.”
Thor cast a sincere smile towards the boy in red. It was one thing to grow up knowing of one's destiny and godliness, but to have it thrust upon you was a great undertaking. There was still a chance that the boy was not the Demiurge, but it was not his place to say one way or the other.
“It is simply Thor. As for Avalon-”“
Is there, like, a big stone door somewhere here for us to burst open?” Changeling chimed in, trying to be helpful.
Thor chuckled at the green boy's suggestion.
“If it were but a test of strength, I would be capable. Nay-” He turned to walk back into stonehenge.
“-the door used to be here. It was easy to break through, now it seems that they don’t wish to have visitors. It would take a powerful mage to break through.” Thor looked at Wiccan with a raised eyebrow.
“There should be magical energies all around here, if you can tune into them it should be a simple case of following them to the door.”Wiccan followed his gaze around the stone circle as he spoke, nodding understandably, yet it was clear from his expression that he had doubts. It sounded so easy when Thor said it. But how would he even start to do that? And even if he did, what if it didn’t work? What if everyone had been wrong about him.
He jumped slightly as Changeling leaned in closer, moving his hand into Wiccan’s, before squeezing it affectionately.
“
You can do this Billy.” The sound coming from his green lips was barely a whisper, yet it was all Wiccan could hear right now.
Nodding affirmingly now, he moved forward, stepping amongst the pillars around them all. His hand passed slowly over the cold stone. Outwardly, there didn’t seem to be anything particular about them. They were just huge chunks of rock. But they couldn’t be. They had to be more.
Breathing in slowly, he closed his eyes, reaching out with his open hand once more. Pushing his anxieties aside temporarily, he tried to concentrate, willing every brain cell he could into action. He thought about what Thor had said. About the life force the Demiurge potentially wielded. And then, just before he decided to give up, he finally felt someone other than stone. It was merely just a twinkle of a feeling at first, yet as he delved closer, it began to feel more familiar. It was like a feeling of comfort. A feeling of love and warmth. A feeling of life.
Pushing deeper, he found that feeling take shape. Sprawling forests of luscious green sprouted before him in his mind. Fantastical structures peaked through the treelines, as colossal castles and palaces came into place. Plains of flowers and grass stretched along the land, filled with all sorts of creatures and life. Wiccan knew in a heartbeat what this was. The Kingdom of Avalon.
Yet despite the electrifying atmosphere of adventure and magic that Wiccan could feel in this image, he found something blocking it. A thin veil of energy, like a pane of glass, stopping him from going any further. He frowned for a moment, before the realization hit him. He stood firm before the shimmering wall of light, before placing the palm of his hand against it.
Opening his eyes, he found himself back within the stone circle, standing directly in front of one of the empty stone arches. Despite not being able to see it, he could still feel the barrier of energy against his outstretched hand. Ignoring the questioning looks of those around him, he began to make a wish.
“
OpenOpenOpenOpen…Open!”
A loud hum rang in the air around Stongehenge as the wind began to rage. Then, as quickly as it began, the grassy hill fell silent once more. The archway before Wiccan was empty no more, the space now taken up by a wall of blackness that seemed to stretch back into eternity.
As a feeling of pride swelled within him, Wiccan turned toward his two companions, gesturing towards the gateway. “
The Kingdom of Avalon awaits.”
Thor gave Wiccan a slap on the back as the portal opened.
“Huzzah! Good job young mage. Even if you are not the Demiurge you have great power and I would be honoured to stand by your side one day in battle.” Thor walked towards the portal, unclipping Mjolnir from his belt and holding it out he pushed it slowly into the portal. Satisfied that the portal was actually open he turned back to Wiccan and Changeling smiling before stepping through the portal. Unlike the Bifrost where you merely stood enjoying the ride through the cosmos, meanwhile in this portal Thor felt himself twist and turn lurching as he fell head over heel again and again.
Disorientated but not deterred, as he saw the other side of the portal rapidly approaching he twisted his torso to ensure that as he left the portal he was still left standing on his feet. Finding himself in a meadow, very similar to the one Stonehenge had occupied but instead of the entire site there was only the doorway. The countryside however was more or less identical, if anything it was merely a bit greener than the one they left behind, and the sun was shining a lot more. Thor inhaled deeply, the air had a sweetness and a freshness that didn’t exist on Asgard. Now all he had to do was wait for the two young heroes.
He didn’t have to wait long however, with the portal surging into life moments later as the red-cloaked Wiccan stumbled into the meadow after him. He hung onto the stone doorway feebly, obviously dizzied by the teleportation, as he tried to regain his footing. Rubbing his forehead, he finally moved his eyes up towards his surroundings, taking the world around him in, a dazed expression of awe plastered over his face.
That was until he froze, his mouth ajar in a state of shock.
“
I was the last one to go through...” He uttered, focussing on Thor. “
Where the hell is Teddy?!”
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